Her prince, her human, her only love
by LadyPotter27
Summary: The heart-breaking, true story of the Anderson's The Little Mermaid.
1. Chapter 1

His golden curls softly fell on his forehead, shining luminously under the light. His god-like profile was intense, focused on something nobody else could see. He had a hard grip on the deck of the ship as his shirt silently ruffled against his chest. All of this, she did not miss – her gaze concentrated on him, heart beating fast in half the fear that he might discover her being down there, and half the fear that he may never see her. Oh, she had been waiting so long. So many sunrises and sunsets and moonless nights, she waited and waited – until she finally caught a glimpse of him again. She dared to swim closer, trying to ignore her strong desire to jump out and forcefully wrap her delicate arms around his neck. She swam to him silently.

He had eyes the colour of the surface of beautiful sea under the light sky – perfect aqua with green hues, clear and intelligent. How beautiful humans could be! He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. If only she were one of his kind, she could be standing there right now, beside him, on her two legs.

But the reality was too far from that dream. She sighed, and her rumble of deep sorrow sped down the depths of the ocean, vibrating almost too quickly.

"Justin!" a voice rang on the deck, and an older man appeared, also with similarly light curls, now a shade between silver and yellow - dressed well in robes. "Son, what do you ponder so deeply about?" he asked. Just then, more men appeared, bowing their heads deeply. "Your highness, we are ready to give the prince his gift." One of them said.

He, Justin, turned around to his men and smiled. "Of course." He replied.

Was it just she, or was he hiding some sort of loneliness behind that stunning smile of his? She swam closer, her dark hair camouflaged against the midnight pools of the ocean.

There was a great painting of him presented in black and white. Men cheered and applaused. She did not understand what it meant, but she felt joy as she watched her favourite human prince embrace other men, laughing and speaking to them. His face was rosy, and she felt warm inside her chest. How she longed to be up there!

After hours of more drinking and merriment, Justin broke apart from the party, alone again. He rested his tanned arms on the deck and sighed. Just like how she had before.

"Oh, how nights crawl by so idly…it bores me to tears. Such as the days that drags by like years of eternity…" He murmured, almost as if he were whispering into the sea. He gazed down to the blackness that was enveloping the mermaid's fragile body.

He spoke again. "How I love thee, for I would be the happiest man spending an eternity being part of you – but I'm afraid today is the last night…"

_Last night. _She heard him. So tonight was the last night she was ever to see him again.

"What wonderous enchantments and secrets do you hide down there? Why so mysterious and so beautiful? Why must you lure me like that?" He said more, his angelic turquoise eyes now filled with loneliness.

"You are my only friend." He barely whispered. The sea seemed to echo his voice, in its own sadness.

She stared up at him, her eyes intense with curiosity and overwhelmed. He loved the sea like she did. She couldn't believe it. Poor prince! Poor Justin! Why must he go away? Where was he going?

"Arranged marriages – such a strife of an unfamiliar bride. If I could marry you, I would." He said, as if he had read her questionable mind.

Her heart felt cold, and she felt a strong desire to comfort him and lay his head in her arms.

Then, there was a giant thunder – ripping menacingly across the cloudy dark sky, in thick lines of bright white. It roared, and she felt the sea shake in response.

Soon, there were more thunders. The rain had started to fall from the sky. This was an interesting experience for her, for she loved to ride the waves when the sea danced wildly to the roaring. However, for the men on the ship – Justin – she saw that it was the terrifying sign of danger, or even death.

The ship caught bright, redness, extremely hot as it quickly consumed up the wood – she stared at it in horror as she felt her cold face grow hot. It grew larger and larger.

"Fire!" one of the crew yelled. At the corner of her eye, she saw several men fall into the water. The ship cracked and made noises of pain – more men fell into the water. For a striking moment, she rejoiced - for she could finally hold her prince in her arms. Then she realised. Humans were different; the only way Justin would come down with her to her home would be dead, unbreathing.

Panicking, she searched for any trace of golden, curly hair and the youthful appearance. She swam through debris, sharp and threatening to cut her soft, delicate skin. She felt blind pain – she saw strings of blood on her arms but did not feel them. She felt her heart beat against her chest, like beats of thunder.

She dove deep, searched through wood, and did not see him. Her heart beat even more loudly as time passed. She caught a glimpse of the man who had called Justin a prince, eyes closed and floating eerily on the water. She did not dare imagine her prince like that. She knew she had to find him.

And then – just about she was to get hit by debris falling on her head, she saw the golden curls, and his face. His mouth was half open, and he fell deep into the water. She dove instantly, and grabbed his torso. He was not lean – she found it difficult to hang on tightly onto his muscled body and arms, but she did. She was willing to die for him even. She lifted his beautiful face faced towards the sky, desperate for him to breathe air. She swam as fast as she could from the explosion of the ship, never being this much frightened in her life. But she held him tightly, and to her passionate relief, she felt a faint beating heart underneath her palm as she held on to his chest.

The shore must be close by. She swam for a long time, delayed due to the added weight. She swam until rain stopped falling and the sky began to clear, now a colour of muddy blue.

Then she saw it- golden sand. Dry place. The land. The place where he came from. She rested his body on the ground, her hands embracing him still, unable to let go. Only if he could embrace her back, she thought sadly. She stared into his face, pale and his eyes closed as if in a deep sleep. Most importantly, his heart was still thudding. She prayed to God for thankfulness, and kissed him on his lips. They were cold, but she felt hints of dry air coming out of it. The sun finally broke, and everything became warmer. She did not take her eyes off of his closed pair, and she laid there beside him, embracing him tightly and her fin beside his human legs.

She felt movement. He was trying to awake. Suddenly scared and excited, she did not know what to do. Until she heard a voice nearby, of a woman's.

"It's the prince!" she screamed.

Just in time, the mermaid splashed back into the water and hid behind a giant rock. She watched painfully as the woman wearing a giant petticoat with a pretty face embraced the prince just like she had, and kissed his forehead.

Justin opened his eyes, gazed longingly into the woman's, and finally smiled.

At that moment, she knew she was to return to her home – her heart permanently shattered into tiny, invisible pieces that were now dissolving in water.


	2. Chapter 2

Endless days and nights passed, ever so slowly and it bore the mermaid to tears. She did not bother combing her long, black hair anymore and did not bother to feed her sea horses in the stables. Her sisters worried, for unlike their father they could sense something deep and personal was bothering their youngest princess. They heard the faintest sighs and murmurs late at night from her bedroom. She smiled no longer, and it was hard to see any signs of her dimples.

Only thing that made her continue to live was the abandoned portrait of the prince, given personally to Justin as his twenty second birthday gift. Amazingly, the portrait was still intact, with barely noticeable scratches. Each day, every morning she starred endlessly at it. The portrait was really a side profile of the prince, with his eyes closed as if to think in a deep manner and his golden curls flowing across his high forehead, holding an empty glass.

The mermaid stared at this longingly until her back ached from not moving for so long. She had wished the painting was in real colours instead of gray hues so she could feel his golden hair to the touch, just like sunlight. Humans were so interesting! Their hair colours sported from anywhere to the darkest black like the race of merpeople, to anywhere as light as silvery blond. And their eyes – the colour of the trees, the ocean, the sand… she wished she was a human so she could have eyes the colour of the beautiful sea hue like Justin's. Not only did they have immortal souls that lived forever after their death, but their life seemed to be in absolute technicolour. She detested how all merpeople seemed to have long, tedious lives with the same black, seaweed like hair with dark eyes.

Whenever she left her room, the mermaid hid the precious painting under vast amounts of seaweed and coral jewels so nobody would find it. She shuddered at the thought of what her family would say if she declared her falling in love with a human.

She lost interest in life, she spent days floating mindlessly in mid-water, often met by migrating whales who stared at the sea princess rather curiously. Playful dolphins often nudged her to play with dead squids, but she'd refuse. She picked random sea flowers from the bed of the ocean and made them into a bouquet and imagined herself being married to the prince… _walking with him in harmony_…. Just like how humans did. She pictured the white beautiful silk gown human girls wore during weddings, as the picture her grandmother had shown her years ago. Oh, only if she had legs! She came to detest her own shiny tail, and did not take the effort to make her large green fin appealing. She added no more pearls like her sisters did each day, nor did she care when young mermen came to court the princesses for balls.

Her grandmother took notice into this unusual melancholy princess. She did not ask nor spoke any words, but solemnly told the sea king, her son, to open a grand ball in the castle for every merpeople around the globe to attend and to cheer the mermaid up. For several weeks, royal messengers busied themselves riding giant sea horses to deliver invitations to the west, east, north and south. The castle was quite brisk, with all the maids and servants decorating the palace with lavish opals and sea jewels that were obviously precious.

But the little mermaid sat alone in her room, her slender fingers tracing the portrait once more. She always wore an opal around her finger – a gift from her mother before she had passed away. She never took it off, for it was a rare design even in the deepest of the seas. She had always treasured it, and loved the way it reflected off all the possible colours of the ocean. But now, she stared at it, and began to hate her roots and wondered about the human life up there.

There was a soft knock. It was one of her six sisters, the second youngest and closest to the mermaid.

"Dearest one," she began, "what is troubling you? You seem so blue and it is impossible for any of your sisters to see your lovely face anymore."

The youngest mermaid did not look up nor speak.

"The ball has started, there are many mermen eager to meet you, now come." The sister softly spoke once more, lending out her slender, white hand very much like her own.

The little mermaid shook her head sadly, for meeting mermen was the last thing she ever wanted to do. "I will be there later." She replied, wishing she could shed tears like humans did on dry land.

Her sister did not leave – instead, she sat on the rock nearest to hers. "Tell me sister, please, I wish to know what is bothering you."

So the little mermaid did, after a moment of hesitation. She realised she could no longer hold it in her secret heart which was about to burst, and she needed someone to know. She told her about the lovely prince, his beautiful face and how very much she loved him.

"Ahh." The sister said after listening patiently. She stared at her younger sister with her big, black eyes. "You know there is nothing that can be done. Are you not aware of that, sister?" she asked in a consoling manner.

The little mermaid nodded.

Her sister sighed.

"It is quite unfortunate how we the merpeople are given the gift of loving our partner so passionately, endearingly, loyally and unselfishly, like no human can imagine, but it is hardly ever returned the same way when it is not of our own kind." She said. "You must realise, sister, that up there, love is often scoffed upon and it doesn't last very long. Even if you were to be human, your love for the Prince will be questioned and you shall be called naïve. It is not uncommon for men to find many women after their first love. They are altogether tormented by a sin called lust." She spoke wisely. "Yet they have the chance of receiving everlasting lives with souls. How unfair that is."

The little mermaid looked into her sister's face sadly. "I cannot imagine a life without him. They cannot be all that bad!"

The older mermaid embraced her. "Of course, not all of them are – some actually do find true love and are fortunate enough to find the only love of their life and stay with them forever. Even as souls in heaven. But it is very rare in their world. They do not love easily like we do. There is a lot of pain up there. Their world is tainted, not only in regards to love, but many other things. It is not pure like our own." She said. "There have been stories of many mermaids who have fallen in love with humans, and none of them ended so well. But it is not our fault that once we are in love, it changes us into a new being with so much bravery and the possibility of anything impossible and unimaginable…" she trailed off.

The little mermaid closed her eyes, her fingers devastatingly spread across her face. "I love him."

The older sister stared at the painting of the prince's portrait and sat on the rock, in deep thought. "…for you cannot imagine to use dark magic." She muttered.

The mermaid got an idea.

"The Sea Witch, you mean?" the little mermaid's eyes lit up. "Why haven't I thought of this?"

"Shush, my child!" the sister's hand covered the mermaid's. "Don't you dare speak of the Sea Witch, do not be ridiculous, do not even think about going to her for help. You know father had done so much to prevent her from attacking the kingdom, do you not?" she asked.

The little mermaid nodded in response, but her heart was already planning the forbidden. She vowed to visit the Sea Witch that night. She was willing to do anything to be with her human prince.

Justin.

* * *

The sea was dark and cold, which meant that the sun up there in the sky had gone to sleep. The whole kingdom, tired and fatigued from the ball and its fanciness, had all gone to sleep with a few servants and maids cleaning up the opal staircases. The little mermaid was not in her bed. Instead she was fastening her long, black hair with a seaweed in a tight ponytail in preparation for her departure. She blew an invisible kiss towards her father and her sisters and her grandmother. Lastly, she kissed the prince's cheek on the painting. It thrilled her to know that she would be meeting him soon… if all things went according to plan.

With her heart beating furiously and loud, the little mermaid escaped the huge kingdom and was out in the wild, all by herself, with her fragile white body eerily swimming in the water, silent and barely visible. From the distance she heard a whale's cry, and managed to appreciate its sound, for this would be the last time she would ever hear it.

The way to the Sea Witch's lair, she knew so well. She had heard many times from her grandmother – past the giant coral reef, past the giant three caves, past the house of a giant seahorse… down deep into the cliff until her eyes became used to the pitch darkness…. And she would see a small, dim yellow light.

She began to shiver at the sudden drop in temperature and hugged her fragile body tight. Her dark green fin whipped the deep waters as hard as she could as she neared the bottom. She saw bright menacing eyes staring at her from all directions and continued to swim faster. Plants of the most grotesque kinds even tried to grab her hair and her white arms. Shaken, the mermaid almost considered turning back to the safety of her father's kingdom. Then she remembered the clear turquoise eyes of the prince she fell in love with, and her heart soared with strength once more. Biting her lips, she swam towards her destination, clutching her heart which ached to see the Prince.

Just then, something grabbed her fin. It was slimy but exceptionally strong. She looked back just in time, and saw pale green hands holding on to her tail. She yelped and kicked as hard as she could, but the hands only hung onto her tighter. Creatures around her began to sense her vulnerability, for they all began to creep slowly towards her with such eeriness.

Then there was a bright red light, and the mermaid was free once more, creatures vanished back into their dark hideouts. Puzzled, the mermaid began to look about her.

Then she heard a voice.

"Come, my child." A voice so soothing yet mysterious, she knew it was the voice of the dark Sea Witch her father had abandoned years ago.

Picturing Justin's handsome face in her mind, the mermaid bravely swam towards the source, and saw a slender, tall woman with five tentacles and pale, pale skin, sitting on a high chair carved with strange gargoyles which was perched on top of human bones.

The witch had a magnificent pair of bright green eyes which made the mermaid's hands quiver.

"I know what you want." She said.

The mermaid stared at her in surprise.

The Witch opened her white fingers and revealed a small scarlet sphere. "And I can grant your wish, though I think it is very foolish of you to wish for it."

As she said these words, a glint of light flashed through her lime eyes.

The mermaid looked at her in hope.

"Please, I will do anything." Just then she wished she hadn't said anything, for the Witch smiled faintly, in the most eerie fashion possible.

"I can make you a human for seven nights and seven days. You will be the most beautiful thing the prince and his world would have ever laid their eyes on, and with no doubt will you be treated quite specially. You will also have many, many natural talents that will amaze the prince and his followers. However-" the Witch held up her finger.

"If you cannot receive the Prince's heart in return for yours after seven nights and your heart remains broken, then you belong to me forever and you will be soulless and will be in eternal hell, being my slave and doing everything I tell you to do. Do you understand?"

A part of her heart told her to stop, but the mermaid could not forget the lovely sigh and the words she heard the night she had fallen in love with the prince. She imagined his sweet gentle voice, and the way he stared so lovingly into the sea… only if he could stare at her like that, she would have no other wish…

"Yes." was her answer, firm and strong that she actually felt.

"One more thing." The Witch spoke once more, gently caressing the giant eel which crawled against her chest.

"You will give your voice to me in return, and you will never be able to sing, or talk to your dear prince. You will also suffer from endless throbbing pains in your head during the day, and unbearable pain on your sole of your feet by night, for they are to bleed invisibly for the cost of my spells I have used to brew this potion."

The mermaid's black eyes grew wide in horror.

_Think of him. Think of Justin. _She told herself.

"I see we have a deal." The Witch laughed softly as she brewed the potion out of the small scarlet sphere, her green eyes burning with victory. She then took the mermaid's voice without a warning. "Your name on land will be Juliet, the name of the tragic lover of a foolish human's love play. Fits the occasion quite well, if you inquire, and they will never find out your origin." She began to cackle, as the potion filled into the bottle by itself, and the mermaid speechlessly stared at her, multiple images of her family and sisters flashing before her. "Drink this potion before sunrise on land, for you will never be able to breathe underwater once more."

The potion settled into her fragile hand, and the Witch sent her off.

The mermaid was able to swim back up to the warm waters without much trouble, for the dark creatures feared the magic of the potion she had been holding.

She visited her house one last time, and silently blew kisses at her sisters and her father and grandmother. She thought of the painting in her room, and began to rejoice at the thought of seeing him in flesh and blood. She quickly swam to the shore, clutching the potion bottle. The sunrise was happening soon.

Soothed by the cool breeze of the sea and trees combined, she embraced the land which her love dwelled upon.

She took one look at her shiny, slender fin, felt her origin, and drank the potion immediately. She started to gag and choke at its horrendous taste, and her body involuntarily shook wildly as the scorching feeling of the potion began to burn her body inside out with unbearable pain. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. She clutched the sand in her tight fist, and at last, everything went black.

R&R.


	3. Chapter 3

_~There once lived a girl under the deep, deep sea. She had black hair that shone in parts of golden under the sun, and her skin was pale olive. Her eyes were black, with mysterious hues of sunlight which she loved. She was young, and she had six sisters. One day she fell in love with a human – a prince whose name was Justin. He had the most beautiful blond curly hair with deep set eyes the colours of the ocean at twilight. She called out to him, he carried her off to his land and they lived happily ever after._

_~Once upon a time, mermaids existed. One of them fell in love with a human. She had a beautiful, long green fin, but she longed for legs. One day, a prince named Justin came and kissed her on the cheek. The mermaid obtained her legs, and they married and lived happily ever after._

_~There was a mermaid who became a human named Juliet. Nothing about her changed, except for her shiny green tail, which was gone – and now she owned a pair of lean legs, and she was no longer able to talk. She was extremely beautiful, but she could not sing like one. Nevertheless, she met her prince and fell in love forever._

_~Juliet was the name of a tragic female lover of a story by a human playwright, who died for love. However, Juliet the mermaid is the name of a female lover who will not die of tragic love, but rather of a happy ending… because mermaids love happy endings…_

_......Juliet and Justin. _

The light was too bright. Juliet had no choice but to open her eyes. She immediately wished she hadn't, for a spiral wave of awful headache crashed onto her skull like a sea storm. The sound of waves at her feet was dull and lifeless, as if to be missing its princess. She moaned, for the pain in her head was unbearable. Shaking, she reached faintly towards the sea water and slapped the cold water against her head. She closed her eyes momentarily, sighing as the cool droplets comforted her distressed skin, absorbing into her fragile face.

Her head was still thudding, and she could feel each pulse of her blood pumping through her veins. It hurt so much; it was like a pain she never could have imagined…

"Excuse me?"

She froze – the voice was too much like that of the one she heard in her dreams each night since she had seen the ship… the party… the ship...

A very familiar, _handsome_ face was watching her intently, with dark golden curly hair and deep turquoise eyes. His thin lips were curved into a gentle, soothing smile, and the eyes expressed an open-minded interest and warmth. The face was way too pleasing to look at, for she was lost in it for a moment. Juliet felt like she was dreaming.

_It's him._

Juliet opened her mouth to speak, but invisible air came out and nothing more. She stared back at his eyes, her dark pupils desperately reaching for his heart.

_Justin! Justin, is that really you? _

She froze in her spot, unable to move. She was desperate for what to do.

_Oh my prince– I've been through all this just to be with you!_

She was still silent. The Sea Witch's curse had taken every ounce of her voice, leaving no trace of it behind in her throat.

_You have no idea how much I wanted to see you!_

She silently screamed. She even forgot about her headache. The sight of him was incredible; she felt her heart beating against her rib cage. She wanted to hold him, she wanted him to come closer – but she was also very afraid.

His face became sympathetic, for he slightly frowned and smiled in a tragic way – he offered his hand to hers. "You must have been through some sort of huge trauma, here, please let me help you."

His voice was so gentle and cautious, even sweeter than she had last heard it from on the ship. He took off his cloak and wrapped it around her petite body – it was then she realised she was sitting there, fully naked. Thankfully, her long seaweed-like hair was enough to cover her intimacy, and Justin was very careful not to stare at her too much. Like a proper prince.

After she was clothed in his cloak, which smelled so sweetly of peppermint and something else, he held out his hand.

She took his hand with hers, and he held on to it very carefully. His hand was warm and dry, unlike hers which were clammy and freezing.

She felt dizzy and wanted to lie down as she stood up with the help of his strength, but she smiled all the same ignoring the harsh pain.

He never took his eyes off of her, and neither did she. It was very well too enchanting; it was like staring at her home through the small opening of his eyes.

He seemed to be quite taken aback at her appearance. Finally, he introduced himself.

"By the way… I don't even know your name, I'm Justin." He placed his other hand around her back.

Automatically, Juliet spoke – with no sound. She looked down miserably, and noticed the gleaming white feet she now had. She felt suddenly happier.

A sudden wind smelling strongly of the sea waves breezed through the couple. Justin seemed to be in a trance for a second, but quickly retrieved.

"If you don't mind, can I call you Juliet?" he asked.

Juliet stared at him astonishingly, and there was no more trace of the wind to be near them. Distantly, it sang goodbye to her.

"I'm sorry. You must have lost your voice not too long ago." Justin said comfortingly.

She only smiled back.

"Please, let me escort you to your home. Where is your home?" he asked.

She just shook her head.

"You have no home?" he asked again.

She shook her head once more.

Justin looked genuinely troubled. "Ah…I see, I'm sorry about that…"

He pondered for a moment, while Juliet stared at his profile – so much like the painting she hid in her room deep down there… now she was finally seeing him in flesh and blood… it was surely a miracle…

"Please," Justin began. "I would like to take you to my castle if you do not mind – see, my father is the King, and I am pretty sure we have many maids who can take care of you well. Would you like that?"

Juliet's dark eyes lit up and caught rays of sunshine. She smiled and nodded.

Justin's face lit up as well, smiling happily. "Great!" he said.

The castle was built on the shore, at a steep angle. She had always seen the view from a tiny rock in the middle of the open sea – now she was seeing it so closely… and was awed at its majestic appearance, and its tall, tall staples of the beauty of its architecture.

Sunlight shone off its shiny marble walls, which were gracefully entwined with vines and other exotic flowers Juliet knew not of. There were roses at the entrance gates, deep red in colour and bathing under the light in all of its beauty.

Throughout their entire walk, Justin never ceased to be patient with her clumsy footsteps and multiples she tripped and fell, her face blushing in embarrassment. Many times he offered to carry her, but Juliet, who had a curious and ambitious mind, insisted that she walk on her own.

"You are very persistent." He commented, with light filling his eyes, "And I like it!"

Juliet only smiled back, her dimple exposed on her delicate skin.

Soon they were in the castle and servants and maids rushed over as soon as they noticed the strange woman on their dear prince's arms.

While Justin explained what had happened, Juliet curiously stared at how quickly the humans seemed to walk, jump on their feet and how dogs sniffed at her feet and barked in excitement. She clutched Justin's cloak around her tightly, somewhat timid at the sudden crowd and attention.

Many numbers of maids hurried over to her, and Juliet reluctantly had to be separated from arms of the prince– who was in a deep conversation with one of the higher servants that he seemed not to notice her.

"What an exotic thing!?" a maid with rosy cheeks chirped as she frantically led her up the stairs of the grand castle, which was elegantly covered in velvet drapes, silk curtains and carpets. There were golden chandeliers on the ceiling, with intricate Michelangelo painting. Butlers were curtly welcoming the prince and his servants.

"Come on, dear, we have to get you to a room before anyone sees you like this –"

"Such a pretty girl, wonder what had happened?" another maid said.

"The Prince must be planning on marrying you!" a younger maid said, who was

soon shushed by an older one with glasses.

After they ushered her into a fancy room with many pink curtains and many mirrors on the wall, Juliet was already being bombarded with comments and gowns of all colours she could imagine. There were at least eight maids in there with her, each protesting to do their own work – one insisted that she wash her hair immediately, for it smelled strongly of seaweed and fish. Others insisted that she immediately take a bath. Several other ones suggested asking Juliet for her preference prior to what they do, for she had to be a very important guest of the Prince. Then they realised that she could not speak a word, and proceeded to giving her a hot bath, and working roughly through her hair, which were unbelievably silky, in their opinion, that it took almost no work at all.

Juliet was then fit into several gowns, all very gently and silky against her soft skin. In the end she chose the one with a coral shade, for it reminded her of her opal ring given to her by her mother.

Her hair was combed, though it was not very needed – into an elegant half up-do with flowing tresses down her back, black and dancing on their own.

Maids gushed at how beautiful she was, and decided by themselves that she must be a goddess sent from Heaven to be with the lonely Prince. They were astonished at her exotic face and features, and that they had never seen anyone like her.

She was finally presented to the Prince and his parents – the King and Queen at dinner. She was more graceful this time, for she even curtsied very prettily. The King smiled down upon her, and praised her of her beauty.

The Queen smiled warmly and took her hand in hers. Both she and the King believed that Juliet had been in a tragic accident, and rewarded her with many gifts and personal maids, leaving her awkwardly overwhelmed and lost.

However amongst all of this, when Justin came and sat with her and took her hand in his, she felt warmth dawn upon her chest and felt happier. She ignored the pounding headache in her skull – being with him was all she needed. Especially that night, he was dressed in a dark suit and looked like a true prince.

She obtained a special seat right beside Justin – she dined with him and smiled every time he spoke to her and nodded encouragingly.

She heard whispers, as many eyes wondered upon her and talked about how beautiful she was. Some wondered if she was the mysterious bride of the Prince. Some wondered what had happened to her to lose her ability to speak. Some wondered if she was a foreign princess brought far from the East just to marry the prince.

All these rumours, Juliet heard – and it ached her especially when one pudgy woman closest to her murmured to her partner explaining that the Prince was already set to marry a princess from a nearby kingdom.

Finally, it was time to dance. Crowds cleared the floor, and the violins played elegantly as the lights dimmed. Justin, standing proudly and happy as he was, lent out a hand to Juliet's, asking her for his first dance.

She accepted, though her feet began to hurt furiously as soon as the sun had set. She smiled prettily, receiving full attention and amazement from the crowd as she danced flawlessly and as gracefully as she swam in the sea.

"You are such a great dancer, you must have been from a very talented family." Justin said into her ears.

Juliet's heart raced faster as he did so. She even forgot about her pain in her feet – for she was truly happy that night. He stayed with her for a long time, making sure she had everything she needed. Many noblemen and women stared and gossiped about the new lady on the Prince's arms, and all kinds of stories twisted through their mouths out of awe, admire, and jealousy.

To all of this, Juliet was perfectly immune to, because it mattered only that the Prince himself had a positive opinion about her.

When it was all over, Justin kissed her both hands and bid her good night. He hugged her, and Juliet's heart raced and thumped against her chest. Her feet were torturous, and as soon as he was out her sight, she ran outside towards the sea.

The Ocean was navy blue under the dim moonlight, but the smell so strongly reminded her of home and made her feel incredibly nostalgic. If it weren't for Justin, Juliet wanted to dive straight into her wearing her fancy gown and elegant hairdo, forgetting all about the court ladies and the gossip and pompous food and blinding chandeliers. She wanted to be in her sisters' arms, going to sleep in her bed listening to the whale cry out distantly and nonchalantly swimming in the cool, soothing waters.

She instantly put her both feet, which were bright red, into the cold water. The fresh waves crashed against her legs and she moaned in pleasure. Her feet were instantly free of pain, and she closed her eyes, listening for her sisters singing. She heard none but only wails and woeful moans as the sea declared it deprived of their youngest princess.

_Please R&R._


End file.
